The manufacturing PMI and manufacturing PMI output indices both
climbed to 31-month highs.

Here's Markit's Chris Williamson:

“The rise in the PMI after two successive monthly falls is a big
relief and puts the recovery back on track. The upturn means
that, over the final quarter, businesses saw the strongest growth
since the first half of 2011, and have now enjoyed two
consecutive quarters of growth.”

“On the downside, the PMI is signalling a mere 0.2% expansion of
GDP in the fourth quarter, suggesting the recovery remains both
weak and fragile.

“The upturn is also uneven. Growth is concentrated in
manufacturing, where rising exports have helped push growth of
the sector to the fastest for two-and-a-half years, while weak
domestic demand led to a further slowing in service sector
growth.

“However, it‟s the unbalanced nature of the upturn among member
states that is the most worrying. France looks increasingly like
the new "sick man of Europe", as a second successive monthly
contraction may translate into another quarterly decline in GDP,
pushing the country back into a technical recession. In contrast,
the December survey data round off a solid quarter of growth in
Germany, in which GDP looks set to rise by 0.5%.

“There‟s little here to suggest that euro area policymakers need
to increase their stimulus, but on the other hand the sluggish
nature of the upturn adds to the sense that policy will remain
ultra-accommodative for quite some time.”